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WWL and Press Conference play by play

For those people who can't get WWL and can't see or hear the press conference let's have a thread where people who can listen and see can post points and details of the press conference. I'll put a link up to this post in the Press Conference recap article when it goes up.

From Governor Foster:
The Hornets owners like the way the state is being run, they like the direction the state is going in and the tax structure. The arena has been a success without basketball, it's going to be a resounding success with basketball.

About the March 15 unconditional out clause in the deal: If it gets this far, nobody is going to back out. These people (Hornets owners) want to come to New Orleans. They like Louisiana. If we get them, they're going to stay.

Originally posted by spongey From Governor Foster:
The Hornets owners like the way the state is being run, they like the direction the state is going in and the tax structure. The arena has been a success without basketball, it's going to be a resounding success with basketball.

About the March 15 unconditional out clause in the deal: If it gets this far, nobody is going to back out. These people (Hornets owners) want to come to New Orleans. They like Louisiana. If we get them, they're going to stay.

Maybe I misunderstood. I though the clause was that either side could pull out BEFORE March 15. Is that not correct?

Governor Foster's statement:
"The MOU has been signed. The whole deal is complete. We have no reason to believe the last stage of this won't be in place (league approval). This happened for several reasons. The owners like the state and city. That made me feel good. The city did it's part in this. The business community came to the table. This is a $300 million dollar business coming to Louisiana. $100 million impact annually on the state. I feel very, very good about it."

Question:There seems to be a lot of doubt that the NBA is not going to go for this deal, what are your thoughts Governor?
"I can only depend on the owners on this. It's pretty hard to tell a company that you can't leave and go somewhere to make money. They feel real sure about it."

"You see how desparate they're getting in Charlotte to keep this team. That shows you how good this deal is. This group (owners) has their mind made up. They're committed to it."

"The only feedback from the league (NBA) is that if they have any problems with the way things are done down here we're going to sit down with them and work things out. I feel really good about this."

Band kicks off press conference playing Jazz music in traditional New Orleans fashion. Buddy D believes that if Charlotte comes up with new arena and the money's there, David Stern will nix the deal and keep the team in Charlotte. He thinks the odds are less than 50/50. (this was prior to the press conference).

State pays team $5-$9 million/year depending on attendance.

PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY BY PLAY:
Stephen Perry opens the conference to announce that "the NBA is coming back home where it belongs, to the city of New Orleans". A standing ovation from the crowd. Over the past 2 1/2 years Charlotte owners have watched New Orleans. They watched with great interest our negotiations with the Saints to see if we had the wherewithall to keep a pro team. This is going to signal an economic renaissance for the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.

It's fairly rare to keep something quiet. It was kept quiet for a considerable period of time. We found out that each of us was an extremely serious suitor.

Charlotte co-owner Ray Woolridge: I heard someone say we made a hasty decision. New Orleans has been a part of my life for a long time. I lived here for 2 years, a daughter was born here and I had a business here for 18 years. New Orleans has a good place in my heart. We found a home for our team that's already decorated in our colors (speaking of the arena's colors). We are very very proud to become citizens of your city and state. The mayor, local leaders and business community has been fascinating. We Love New Orleans.

Charlotte co-owner George Shinn: (Standing ovation) Ray said he spent two years here some time back, I spent 2 years here a couple of days ago just in the French Quarter. We're committed to make things work. I've heard a lot of people say it's hard to make it work there. WE'LL SHOW YOU. It's not the size of the market that's important, it's how you market your market. We love this market and we're going to make it work. GO HORNETS.

Mayor Marc Morial: This has been a total team effort. The success of this effort for so many of us truly shows that when the state and city work together so much can occur. I am deeply appreciative of the commitment and work of Governor Mike Foster who has already signed this agreement. I'd like to think of Mike Foster and I of the guys that ran the play. We ran the play and scored. The map of the play was put together by former Governor's Edwards and Bartholmey. The third time is the charm. The New Orleans Hornets are HEREBY BORN. The Honrnets are going to float like a butterfly and sting like a Hornet. The owners are committed to winning. To bring a team here that we can all be very very proud of. We say once again to all of the folks who said you shouldn't build the arena because you'll never get a team, we're the David's and we've knocked down the Goliath's today.

The signing of the MOU takes place. Officially it's been signed by the Governor, this is a ceremonial signing.

The basic outline of the deal is going to be revealed after the MOU has been signed.

The signing of the MOU takes place. Mayor Marc Morial, Ray Woolridge and George Shinn are sitting at a table and signing the MOU.

New Orleans has until March 15 to sell 60 of 64 suites and about 2500 premium seats. Eastern New Orleans is the location for the $6 practice facility for the new team. Arena will get $9 million in renovations. David Stern will appoint at least 5 NBA owners to review the proposal for the deal. Marc Morial shot from the podium about 30 feet away, a basketball AND MADE IT!! GO MAYOR!!!

Stephen Perry, Governor's Chief of Staff:
"We have pioneered an agreement that is going to set a standard for the NBA. We truly have opportunities here for the NBA to be successful in smaller markets. Over this next period of time, we will begin taking ticket order very soon for the New Orleans Hornets. The number to call is 1-800-596-1515 to order tickets. The Hornets have signed a 10 year agreement with two 5 year options on the end. With a $10 million exit fee.

The arena will be as good as any arena in the country when the improvements are made when the Hornets open play in October of this Fall. The Hornets will pay rent of $2 million dollars. We'll have 64 suites of which they'll receive 100% revenue for. 100% of concessions, novelties, parking, advertising, naming rights. We've got a plan in place to try and secure naming rights.

The State of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans will make money having this franchise. The inducements for the Saints was fully met, that was a stipulation of the Governor. We've shared risk with the Hornets on items like how many tickets were sold and how many people were in the seats. naming Rights: We don't know the limit to the value of the naming rights on this facility so we're not setting a limit to it. We're going to work harder than you've ever seen to sell tickets.

We have the financial capacity and business inventory to sell the club seats and suites. And the fanbase to fill those seats in the arena. "

QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA:

Question about league approval:
Ray Woolridge: "The deal is not going to fall through"
"The league office has been abreast of EVERYTHING we've done here."
"We're confident that the process will be approved"

Question about possible improvements to the arena in the future
Doug Thornton, manager of the Dome and Arena:
"We're possibly going to put a sports bar in the arena."

Question about Louisville's proposal:
Ray Woolridge: "In particular Louisville, had it not been for the Louisville mayor's activities in working with us. Louisville would not be a city we would have considered. It's a wonderful city, it's going to be an NBA city. There is no loser here. He's warming up for the next try."

Question about Charlotte deal being propped up by New Orleans offer:
Ray Woolridge: "The voters of Charlotte decided that the economic package was not acceptable to them. It's not just that I'm not interested. After the vote, there's been no contact with Charlotte officials and we don't expect any contact. We've accepted New Orleans' offer and they've accepted ours. THIS DEAL IS DONE. We will not use this offer to get a better deal in Charlotte."

THEY ONLY NEED 15 VOTES (A SIMPLE MAJORITY) FROM THE NBA OWNERS TO MOVE AND NOT THE 22 THAT WAS REPORTED.

15 votes and not 22? that sounds big!

Seems like that's a WHOLE lot easier to get done...unless of course the vast majority of owners will simply go with whatever the commish wants, which is a possibility.

IMO this is a big risk the saints are taking, but a risk that's probably worth it....fact is, if the NBA does nix this deal, then new orleans receives a major black eye. Forget about another team coming in the future. Add to that the fact that practically the whole nation has been hearing all about our tiny market and sputtering economy, and this could really blow up in our faces.

HOWEVER, if it does work out, then we get the chance to prove everyone wrong - and in a year or so nobody will remember the negative comments about new orleans when they're watching the team play in front of a sell-out crowd on TV.

What worries me is Buddy D's comment that the league will attempt to block the deal - meaning they'd seek an injunction and send it to court? - if there's an offer to buy the team in charlotte. This doesn't seem right in terms of fairness to the owners. They'd be FORCED to lose money for the next few years while they build an arena in charlotte? that's not capitalism

Hot Dog! thanks buddy D, that's the question I was waiting for. Of course, if you listen to all the charlotte people then neither of these guys are to be trusted, so we have to take the comments for what they're worth...

but still, hearing him say w/ confidence that he's NOT selling the team and that the only thing standing in the way is NBA approval is big.

Charlotte co-owner Ray Woolridge: I heard someone say we made a hasty decision. New Orleans has been a part of my life for a long time. I lived here for 2 years, a daughter was born here and I had a business here for 18 years. New Orleans has a good place in my heart. We found a home for our team that's already decorated in our colors (speaking of the arena's colors). We are very very proud to become citizens of your city and state. The mayor, local leaders and business community has been fascinating. We Love New Orleans.

***************

Note my emphasis above. I take that to mean that the team WILL be known as the New Orleans (or perhaps Louisiana) Hornets. I've neither seen nor heard anyone suggest that the franchise would lose the "Hornets" name (aside from John Breaux a week or so ago).